


There's A Hellhound In That Handbasket

by colorofakiss



Series: Puppy Piles What Puppy Piles? [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Knotting, Multi, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Polyamory, Puppy Piles, not every tag mentioned in every chapter, will tag as things come up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 14:48:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5874769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorofakiss/pseuds/colorofakiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The pack is growing up, figuring out their futures, and falling deeper into a web of relationship entanglements while battling the new creatures that bumble their way into Beacon Hills.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Whoa has it been just about three years since my last installment of Puppy Piles What Puppy Piles?? I know that I almost didn't believe it would happen, but I'm not one to leave a story unfinished, and this series definitely needed one more fic to end it. This will be the last fic for this series (not counting the Behind the Scenes chapters I need to finish). When I started this journey with all of you the characters and premise of Teen Wolf sucked me in and I couldn't help but write this out. I love this series, and all of you for reading along with me, but there are other Teen Wolf stories that I have to tell once this is done, new journeys to take. 
> 
> For those of you who have waited patiently (or not so patiently), who have checked in on me, and sent asks to my tumblr inquiring as to when it would happen, who commented on a fic that hadn't updated in years and came into my inbox gushing over how much you enjoyed this series, this is for you. I promised one more fic and you helped me keep motivated, and I am forever grateful for you. 
> 
> Moving forward I'm going to be honest here, I won't have a frequent update schedule, it won't be years inbetween but it will be a month or two, maybe sooner, maybe not, I just can't tell. I do know that I want to make it good, and to do it the justice it deserves. 
> 
> A big thanks to-
> 
> My beta: weebleroxanne
> 
> and lastly, a huge thank you to boomslang, I don't think I could've kept plugging away on this fic without you

Erica loved kissing. She loved everything about it, the sigh of breath, the warmth, the way people would melt into it. There was one thing she loved almost as much as kissing and that was watching other people kiss. In fact, she had started playing a game with herself to see if she could catch every couple combination in her pack kiss. Almost like bird watching but so much more fun. The only one who knew she was playing was Boyd, because he finally asked her why she kept tripping Peter into him. Spoilsport. 

Some were easy to get, but others were downright impossible. She could catch Stiles tonguing it out with Derek any day of the week but she'd never seen him kiss Jackson. And good luck trying to see a Lydia-Peter kiss, she didn't think it would ever happen. Isaac on the other hand had gotten around to everybody, rivaling only herself. Allison was a close second. Although, she really tried not to think of it as a race, Erica couldn't help getting a little competitive.

Then there was the holy grail of all kisses, even rarer than a Lydia-Peter kiss, there was one kiss she could only fantasize about. And fantasize she did, because in her dreams it was hot. So maybe she had a thing for older guys, whatever, no one could tell her it wasn't absolutely delicious. Even though they could barely stand to be in the same room together, Peter and Mr. Argent would make one glorious kiss. Their glares of hatred would translate over to some wild sex she bet. She knew Peter would be on board, if only to finally get Mr, Argent on his knees. And-

"What are you thinking about?" Isaac tapped his nose in a knowing way while he stared at her. 

Erica smiled but didn't say anything as she crawled over the couch to him. She nuzzled into his neck and trailed feather light kisses up his jaw and to his mouth. Kissing Isaac was like sitting next to a fireplace, it warmed every bit of her up.

"You're not going to tell me are you?" He said to the top of her head once she'd scooted down to his chest.

"Nuh, uh. That's one fantasy the world isn't ready for yet."


	2. A Beginning of Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack gears up for finals and tension mounts as college talks is in the air.

"I think Allison is having a little bit of a freakout on what to do after high school," Scott kicked a pine cone across their path. 

"Ah, can I share in that freakout. In fact we should have a pack freakout, you know, for solidarity," Stiles said as he narrowly avoided a low hanging branch. They were walking through the forest, not really for any reason, just to go through the trails. At least that’s what Stiles thought they were doing, but he'd been watching Scott pat trees left and right. He'd been taking care of the territory lines more lately. 

"That wouldn't work. Lydia's had her after high school plan planned since kindergarten. Besides, I thought you said you had it all worked out when Derek asked last week." 

Stiles looked up at the sky, which was a very lovely shade of robin’s egg blue he thought. 

"You lied to Derek? You know your dad's been insisting on having weekly coffee with him, and he probably told your dad, which means you lied to your dad as well." 

"I didn't lie per se, I do have it worked out. I have worked out that I'm going to wing it a bit."

"Wing it," Scott looked dubiously at him. 

"Yeah, I'm going to wing it okay? I'm not really sure what I want to do, and I don't feel like spending money taking a few classes while I try to figure it out." 

Scott had stopped to look at him while he talked and only paused for a moment before nodding. 

"Not sure your dad will go for it, but tons of people take a semester off." He heard Stiles respond, but a burning scent distracted him from the conversation. He turned to his left, veering away from Stiles to take a deep breath.

"Uh, Scott, what's wrong? Do I need to get out the mountain ash?" Stiles' hand hovered near his inside flannel pocket. Just because he felt pretty safe in the woods now that his main squeeze was a giant wolf monster didn't mean he went into them unprepared. 

"I don't think so, whatever it is smells dead already," Scott waved his hand in front of his nose, trying to dissipate the smell. 

"It's not another fucking tanuki is it? Because I've had enough of them. Boyd has like three hats okay, and the local healers don't want the powdered testicles anymore. I have four jars of powdered testicle sitting on my computer table. That's one too many." 

"Not a tanuki," Scott said as they turned the corner around a large redwood. The trunks of a few trees looked scorched, and the burnt smell came strongest from a large wolf-like creature that lay dead in the path. 

"Whoa," Stiles breathed. The creature had a huge head, smaller than Derek was in his wolf-form, but still big. Miniature pony size at least. It's eyes were glassy with death, and now Stiles could smell the smoke smell of it. 

"What the fuck is that?" Scott asked. Stiles shrugged. He was more focused on why it was there and how it died. 

Stiles circled it, taking in the deep black fur and long tail. 

"Stiles..." Scott warned as his hand reached out to touch the fur on its back.

"Dude, this thing is deader than dead. It's growing some noxious mold and maggots on this side. Erghf," he pulled his hand back. "Oh, yeah, this thing's going to make me gag, gross." He stumbled away from it. 

"Do you think there's more of, whatever this is?" 

"My wishful thinking says nope." 

Scott sighed. He didn't want to start monster chasing with finals around the corner. 

"Come on, let's snap some pictures and get out of here. You know, I'm really over finding dead bodies in the woods with you."

"Ditto, bro. For once I'd like to find a pile of money nobody claims." With one last look around, Stiles followed Scott out of the grove and back to the Jeep.

*****

"Were you in a rush, or was that outfit intentional?" Jackson scoffed at Derek's sweats and t-shirt. Derek looked down and scowled.

"I'm doing a load of laundry. I don't even think this is my shirt," he said more to himself than Jackson. 

"Derek, if you need clothes we can buy you clothes. You don't have to start wearing ours."

"I have-!" Derek stopped himself once he realized Jackson thrived on outbursts. Too much time with Lydia, he supposed. Jackson had already ordered for him, so he sipped his coffee while he waited for Jackson to stop posturing. 

Ever since Derek had insisted on weekly coffee dates with everyone, to check in and see where everyone was at, especially considering the end of the school year, he had gotten better at their tells. Jackson did a lot of the metaphorical barking before being able to actually have a conversation. Even then most of what he said was wrapped up in snipping and sarcasm. Once you got past the bite of his words, it wasn't so hard to figure out what he was actually trying to say. He wondered how long it took Danny to decode him. 

Jackson knew what Derek was doing, could see right through his feeble attempts at bonding. It didn't bother him, hey, if Derek wanted to be a better alpha, he was down for that since his previous attempts were incredibly shitty. He just wished Derek didn't look so concerned all the time. The worry was starting to etch its way onto his face. 

"So, how's-"

"School is fine. Lydia's fine. I'm fine. Can I go now?" Jackson ticked each off on his finger, lingering over his middle one. 

Derek stared at his petulant beta and swallowed the sigh that threatened to dismantle the conversation he was trying to have. He wondered if asking Lydia and Danny how to get past the blustering would count as cheating. Lydia would probably think so.

Stiles would definitely think so.

"Sit down. We're going to talk about something and if you don't start, I'll start talking about sex with Stiles." 

Jackson glared.

“You wouldn't dare."

Derek opened his mouth and enjoyed the flicker of disbelief that crossed Jackson' face.

*****

Isaac stared at himself in the mirror and grinned. The thin strap of blue leather around his neck felt good and the triskele charm that dangled from it was a perfect recent addition. He didn't quite get the attraction everyone else saw in it, but he liked the weight of them. Liked the sensation of belonging, in more than one way to his mates. Liked that occasionally he'd pass someone at school or out and about that would see the collar and give him a wink. 

Sometimes he felt a little funny if he was wearing it around Stiles's house and the Sheriff saw it on him, but luckily the Sheriff didn't normally stare at his throat. Melissa on the other hand had instantly honed on it, immediately told him to remember to be safe, and that the blue suited his eyes. Mr. Argent wisely chose to ignore it. Isaac felt that was a good tactic. 

Sure, Jackson and Danny had teased him a bit the first time they eyed it, but honestly the proud smiles Allison and Scott flashed him every time they saw it around his neck made it all worth it. Not to mention Stiles had tripped into a door frame the first time he saw it and Derek had gotten all glowy red eyes. 

Isaac couldn't believe how lucky he was. 

*****

"Dad! I'm leaving!" Allison yelled as she strapped her backpack into place.

"Do you have your crossbow?" He called back from his study.

"It's in my locker!"

"And what about your dagger, it was on the kitchen-"

"I got it!"

"What about your taser?"

"Got it!" Allison shouted back just before the door shut behind her. Most dads asked their kids if they remembered their homework but Allison's dad knew better than that. Homework was the least of his worries. 

Allison grinned at the sight of Scott on his new motorcycle. He had only had it for a few weeks, but already she loved the rush of it. Her dad had frowned and grumbled when he first saw it, citing statistics and recounting grisly facts of crashes. Only after Scott offered to give him a ride did he relent and let her hop on the back of it. Scott had custom ordered a helmet with racing arrows on it that she dutifully strapped on. She loved this.

Scott maneuvered them through traffic, all the while listening to Allison's heartbeat. He didn't get to drive her around on it as much as he would like, but a couple of times a week their schedules and parents agreed. She fit against his back, and for a while it was just them, reconnecting. Scott loved his mates, loved his pack, but even he knew that making sure they got some one-on-one time was important. Time management had become their ultimate goal in life. Pack stuff, school stuff, unexpected monster of the week stuff, it all took time and there were only so many hours in a day. He had finally suggested that maybe making a Google calendar to keep track of everyone's daily schedules would be in their best interest. So far, so good.

Helmet hair was a thing that Allison could do without, but she knew Lydia kept backup hair product in her locker so it didn't bother her too much. It was a small price to pay for the thrill of it, for the moments firmly grounded by Scott. It wasn't just the wolves that needed anchors. She had been moved around too much to take being grounded for granted. 

*****

There was something wrong with Peter's apartment. To the left of him, Erica and Isaac were cuddled on the couch, his back to her front. They were being disgusting in their affection for one another, nuzzling and petting while watching Iron Chef. Directly in front of him Boyd stood in the kitchen baking what smelled like some type of delicious, sweet bread. 

"What are all of you doing here?" He finally asked after trying for the past three hours to discern what exactly had brought them to his apartment. When he had gotten home from work, Boyd and Erica were already in. They were studying at his kitchen table, their books and notes splayed out in front of them. Isaac had showed up later with no explanation as to why he was there. He just pushed past Peter and rolled into Erica. 

Boyd looked up from his kneading and rolled his eyes. No one had bothered to tell Peter that he and Erica considered him their mate under Boyd's strict orders. He knew for a fact that Peter was going to be stubborn about it in his own special brand of ridiculously dense. Erica had agreed that this was best. They had come to realize that Peter was the type of wolf that needed to come to terms with things in his own time. Even if that meant he had to grouse about it the entire way. 

"Did you want us to leave?" Erica asked as she rested her head on the side of the couch. The she-wolf made demands of everyone else, but around him she was hesitant. Cautious. 

"No," he said slowly, rolling the sound in his mouth. Erica quirked her eyebrow at him. "No," he said again, sinking down into his chair. 

Boyd had to stifle his laugh at Peter's obvious petulance. Nothing that a little sweet bread couldn't cure though. 

*****

What most of the pack didn't know was that Jackson could dance. It was a fact that Danny had known for a while, back when Jackson would play wingman at the clubs for him. The second part of that fact was that Jackson enjoyed dancing. When the thump of a good song came on he would pull Danny to the dance floor, they would twine against each other, and for a song or two Jackson would completely unwind. Languid and easy, he would flow with the bass until Danny breathlessly pulled him away. 

Danny took them out at least once a week nowadays. Jackson's lingering dark mood over the new tolerance shared between Peter and Lydia was more than he could take. Besides, Jackson liked the attention and the fact that he got to go home with Danny.

*****

Derek felt a little queasy as Lydia took one final look at the remodeled Hale house. If she gave the okay, he could finally move in. He had gotten enough of sleeping on Peter's couch. There were some things that just could not be unheard.

Lydia noticed how many times Derek ran his hands through his hair, but she wasn't about to let him move himself into a house that didn't meet her standards. She could only imagine how difficult it must've been to destroy the old Hale house and Derek's anxiety wasn't unfounded. This new one would one day house their pack and she needed it to be well looked at for them too.

It took her hours to look in every room, closet, and nook. She went over every wall with an herb satchel that was supposed to smoke up at the first sign of supernatural tampering. And she turned on every light, sink, and electrical piece of hardware. Nothing went untouched.

After her third time testing the staircase she turned abruptly and bumped into Derek. She frowned at him and took a deep breath.

"I think it's going to work out just fine."

"You do?" He looked around as if she were pranking him.

"You did good, Hale. We can start getting the furniture put in tomorrow if you'd like?"

Derek looked at the freshly painted walls and the new banister of the staircase. It felt unreal to him now that it was finally done. He had never hoped that he would have any semblance of pack or home since the fire that had taken away both. All at once the responsibility of it struck him, and for once he felt up to the challenge. 

"I have something for you," Lydia said as she dug into her over-sized purse. Smiling, she passed him a framed photograph. 

Derek stared into the faces of his family, his whole family, for the first time in years. 

"I thought it could be the first thing we hang on the walls. A commemoration. And a memorial," she added. 

Derek nodded roughly, he didn't know what to say.

Lydia let him have a moment before swiftly kissing his cheek.

"I'm proud of you," she whispered into his ear. "Don't let it go to your head though, we still have furniture to place and assemble. And don't think I haven't seen that garish headboard Stiles picked out, no way is that going into this house," she added primly.

Atta girl, he thought. 

*****

"Look, I'm not saying that test was biased, but I was definitely feeling a vibe from that substitute teacher. I only asked to go to the bathroom twice, but like, how am I at fault? I had to drink all that coffee just to be able to take this stupid test, and she acts like I'm the problem in the class when Greenburg was visibly cheating the whole time! Could school get more un...uh dude you don't have to like body guard me at school, there's pack everywhere. Plus, I've got mountain ash on me so, we're cool," Stiles peered up at Boyd with quizzical eyes. He didn't notice too much anymore when his packmates crowded around him more than the average person would. With Boyd though, he knew something was up. Boyd didn't cling. 

"Oh, sorry. Habit I guess," he tried to shrug it off, but Stiles could see through it. Boyd rarely shrugged anything off. In fact the last thing Stiles had seen him shrug off was Jackson during a training session, and that was into a pile of dirt.

"Boyd, I'd never ask you to betray Derek's confidence, but I know he put you up to this, so just keep staring at me stoically if that's a true statement."

Boyd kept staring.

"Looks like your alpha and I are going to have a little talk about invasion of privacy and keeping an eye on me through the betas. I can take care of myself, this is so typical," Stiles griped as he whipped out his phone to send a string of angry texts.

"You can't entirely fault him for being paranoid. A lot of weird stuff keeps popping up," Boyd pointed out.

"It could have been anyone that ran into a kelpie, or tripped over that fireworm, or drove their Jeep into a mildly annoyed yeti baby only then to be pursued by its yeti parents. Those things are possible for anyone, Boyd," Stiles glared at him. 

Boyd shook his head and opened his locker. He knew better than to get involved in one of Stiles's tirades. And he definitely knew better than to get in between Derek and Stiles when they were having what Lydia would call a "tiff".

*****

Danny shook his head as his mother passed him bowls of Haupia and then shut the door behind her. He turned and set them on his bedside table, right next to Lydia's purse. On the bed, Lydia slept soundly as she hogged most of the space. She was twisted in the blankets, a contrast to how she usually slept. Getting out of the bed without her waking was easy, but getting back in now that she had slid into his warm spot wouldn't be.

She made a small sound of upset, and then opened her eyes, saving him from having to Tetris his way into his own bed. 

"What are you doing up? We were napping," She rubbed one of her eyes while wiggling deeper into the blankets. 

"My mom wanted to give us dessert. Still can't believe she doesn't care that you spend the night sometimes."

"Face it, your mom loves me," she laughed a little. 

"No kidding, she never lets anyone else stay the night." 

"That's because she knows we aren't having sex," she said with what sounded like smugness to him.

That was true his mother never let Jackson stay over that's for sure. Lydia opened her arms for him to roll into. Dessert could wait, he thought. Her hair smelled like strawberries, she was cuddly, and he was tired. Dealing with a new monster almost every two weeks on top of graduating, Jackson's irritability, and Lydia's own evasiveness, it was enough to make anyone wiped out. He just hoped that whatever Lydia had going on didn't involve Peter.

*****

Derek yawned and poured himself a cup of coffee as Sheriff Stilinski took a sip out of his own cup at the kitchen table. 

"Did they keep you up all night?" John asked with a twinkle in his eye that Derek missed.

"Yes," he groaned and then realized what he just said. "I mean no sir, no, not like that. Their finals are going to be the death of me," he groused and plopped down in the chair across from him. 

"You're brave for sleeping with them, or I guess staying up with them while this goes on. I'm sure my son is one of the worst ones." 

"I don't ever want to see another brainstorm web ever again," Derek confessed. John laughed quietly. 

"Two more weeks and it'll be over. Unfortunately, Stiles is fond of brainstorms." 

Before Derek could complain some more, Lydia trudged into the kitchen and to the coffee pot, which she grabbed and wearily took back upstairs. 

"Did she just..."the Sheriff trailed off at Derek's pinched expression. "Good luck with that son, I have to get to my shift."

Derek put his head on the table, which is how Erica and Isaac found him later, passed out with his cup gripped in one hand.


End file.
